The European Union and Ukraine launched talks on Monday on a broad new agreement for boosting cooperation on areas ranging from trade to energy but the EU said this was not an automatic route to membership, REPORTED REUTERS. Both sides insisted the new agreement was not hostile to Russia, which has criticised the closer ties the West has forged with former Soviet states since the end of the Cold War. "I do not think Russia would be concerned ... there is nothing against Russia," Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Veselovsky said before the start of the talks in Brussels. "Better European relations for all countries is good for Russia as well as it is good for others," he told reporters. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the bloc also wanted to launch talks on a similar agreement with Russia, currently held up by a dispute over farm exports. "Neither one should be against the other," she said of the two agreements. "On the whole it should be a win-win situation." Veselovsky said Ukraine was looking to open up a future which lay ultimately with EU entry. Ferrero-Waldner did not rule this out but said the talks were in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy for EU links with its neighbours. "The Neighbourhood Policy is not for accession but it gives a great chance to come much closer and to broaden and deepen the relations ... But at the same time the future is not prejudged." The agreement would build on an existing partnership and cooperation accord and focus on trade and energy as well as human rights, the environment and the fight against corruption. However, the aim of establishing a free trade area will have to wait for Ukraine's accession to the World Trade Organisation. Ferrero-Waldner said the EU was keen for Ukraine to return to political stability after the protracted bout of uncertainty that followed its "Orange Revolution" two years ago. "It is very important that we have a stable Ukraine." She could not say how long the talks would take but added they would help the reform process in Ukraine and should help strengthen stability. Ferrero-Waldner called Ukraine a key energy partner. "A new agreement would ... help us go further in ensuring energy security, improving safety and environmental standards and also progress towards integration of our electricity and gas markets," she said. Ukraine is the main transit route for Russian gas supplies to the European Union and European energy importers were rattled early last year when supplies through the country were interrupted by a pricing dispute between Kiev and Moscow.
